Quinnipiac Director of Athletics Jack McDonald To Receive St. Francis Award From Franciscan Life Center

Quinnipiac University Director of Athletics Jack McDonald will receive the St. Francis Award from
the Franciscan Life Center at the 28th Annual Franciscan
Sports Banquet. The annual dinner will be held on Tuesday, June 4,
2013 at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville, Conn. Individuals
interested in purchasing tickets to the event can visit the
Franciscan
Life Center homepage for more information.

The Franciscan Life Center offers counseling, education
services and Franciscan Home Care and Hospice Care offers home
health care and hospice care services to individuals and families
in need. The Franciscan philosophy is rooted in the dignity of the
human person and the sacredness of human life.

"I am very humbled and honored to be the recipient of this year's
St. Francis Award,” McDonald said. “When I was
notified, I immediately thought of my parents, my ten siblings and
the many nuns and Jesuits who supported, taught and guided me for
many years.”

McDonald, now in his 18th year at Quinnipiac
in 2012-13, is the third member of Quinnipiac’s Department of
Athletics to receive the award from the Franciscan Life Center,
joining women’s basketball head coach Tricia Fabbri, who was
inducted in 2007, and men’s basketball head coach Tom Moore,
who was inducted in 2011.

“This very special award represents the wonderful
accomplishments our entire Quinnipiac community, under the
leadership of President John Lahey,” McDonald said.
“This award would not have been possible without
professional, enthusiastic and tireless efforts of the coaches,
staff and student-athletes in the Quinnipiac Department of
Athletics and Recreation. I am also thrilled that
President John Lahey will be my presenter for this award."

In addition to assisting the University with raising funds for
scholarships, facilities , McDonald has overseen fund-raising
programs for the Quinnipiac community and charities, as well as
raise thousands of dollars in his own community with the Irish Eyes
Are Miling (Cheshire Relay for Life), Labor Day Movie Night (Petit
Family Foundation) and the Gurnet Saquish Beach Run (Gurnet Saquish
Fire Fund).

An active member of the National Association of Collegiate
Directors of Athletics (NACDA), McDonald was named to the Executive
Committee after serving as the NCAA I-AAA President. In addition to
Quinnipiac's many on-field accomplishments under McDonald's
guidance, the Bobcats have also reached unprecedented heights in
the classroom.

In each of the last 14 years as a Division I athletic
department, Quinnipiac has seen consistent improvement in its
student-athletes cumulative grade-point averages and steady
expansion of all-academic honors within the Northeast Conference
and ECAC Hockey. McDonald founded the Quinnipiac governing board of
faculty and staff, the Athletics Council and instituted "Positive
Play" programs with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

McDonald also helped secure Quinnipiac's
Invitation to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
(MAAC) in 2012; ECAC Hockey in 2004; and Quinnipiac's first
NCAA Certification since moving to Division I in 2004.
McDonald was also an intergral part of Quinnipiac's program,
design, construction and dedication of the TD Bank Sports Center, a
160,000 square foot facility that features separate state of the
art venues for men's and women's basketball and ice hockey.

The TD Bank Sports Center has received significant national
recognition for its equity for men and women, as well as for
basketball and ice hockey. This past fall, McDonald led the
initiative to secure the 2014 NCAA Women’s Frozen Four at
High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center.

Before Quinnipiac, McDonald served as director of athletics at
the University of Denver (1990-95) and assistant athletic director
for marketing and development at Boston College (1987-90). McDonald
is a 1973 graduate of Boston College. He earned a master's degree
from Springfield College in 1984.